Somnium
by Merle's Right Hand
Summary: He wanted her close, impossibly close, as if his whole life had been leading up to this one precise moment...


**Doctor Who** is obviously not mine, nor am I making any profit from this work of fiction; it is purely for entertainment purposes only.

**∞ _Somnium ∞_**

The control room was quiet, Rose already off to bed after their latest adventure. These bodies that humans had, constantly requiring sleep really was inefficient when one thought about it. Not that he was doing much at the moment; lounging in the jump seat, book in hand, going through good old Albert's theory of relativity and fixing a few calculations here and there, and that – oh, well that ought to be squared, shouldn't it?

Suddenly power shut off, tossing the whole interior of the TARDIS into pitch blackness. Where were her emergency running lights, back-up power? Also, what the hell had just happened? Stumbling a bit, the Doctor fumbled, dropping his text book into the floor. Grasping the edge of the console, he finally got his bearings when the lights came back on, nearly blinding him. Swearing a string of Gallifreyan curses, he blinked a few times before leaning over to pick up his abused book, stopping short at a pair of feet.

Picking up the book, he spoke. "Ah, Rose, not to worry, just a TARDIS version of a hiccup. Sorry if she woke…" He trailed off as he took her in. She stood barefoot on the metal grating but instead of her usual pyjamas of various shades of pink flannel, she wore a shimmering gold hued gown that caught the subdued lights of the control room, almost blurring her figure. Even her hair seemed to radiate light as she stood before him, gauging his reaction. "Rose, are you all right?"

She broke out into a smile then, giggling softly. That's when he saw it, the gold swirling about her irises. He stepped back from her, his legs hitting the jump seat.

"What? Doctor, are you afraid of the big Bad Wolf?" She asked, regaining control over herself.

How could this have happened? He would have to regenerate once more, not that he wasn't willing to do it, it's just that he _really_ liked this body this time around.

"Oh, don't worry Doctor, Rose is completely fine. Dreaming her dreams, tucked away in bed, completely unaware." The Bad Wolf said calmly, tip toeing her fingers along the railing.

"But, but you're the same…" He was desperately trying to figure this all out and having some difficulty with it, which naturally hurt his Time Lord pride.

"We are the same, that is true… but-" she stepped closer to him, backing him into the jump seat until she stood in front of him. "You're not awake right now." She whispered, leaning towards him.

"A dream? This is all a dream?" he looked about, searching for something. "There's usually something obviously surreal about a dream to signify that it is, in fact, a dream." He stated, turning back to her. Cocking an eyebrow as she smirked at him, "Ah yes, of course; _literally_ staring me in the face."

"You know, Doctor, sometimes you can be _very_ oblivious to what's actually going on." The Bad Wolf spoke softly, slowly crawling onto the jump seat with him, straddling his legs.

"Ah, and um… what is going on exactly?" he was trying desperately to keep his voice from pitching higher; it was very un-Time Lord-like. Her face, Rose's face, inched closer towards his.

Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his, hands steadying herself against his shoulders. He felt his own hands falter, tensing and relaxing on either side of the jump seat, at odds with what he should do. Reaching up, he pulled her back from him, her expression confused.

"This isn't Rose." He stated, watching the gold swirl in her eyes.

The Bad Wolf smiled, leaning down to whisper to him. "We're the same, she and I. You know that. Besides, I've been in your head; you've been looking. You like it." Cassandra's words, echoing back to him through time and space. Her lips found the pulse point at the side of his neck, his hands involuntarily dropped to her waist, clutching the fabric there.

Shifting closer, her mouth trailed soft kisses along his jaw, murmuring as she went. "She loves you, would do anything to keep you…" Trailing off, she looked him in the eyes. "Safe."

He could hear himself gasp. _Brown_. Her eyes were brown, not a speck of gold present. "Rose," he exhaled, reaching up to graze his fingers along her cheekbone.

Flushing her namesake, she caught his hand in her own, pressing it to her cheek, her voice husky as she breathed his name.

Unable and unwilling to stop himself, he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his, tightening his arm around her waist as his other slipped from her cheek to tangle in her long blonde tresses. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers slipping through his hair, nails running over his scalp. A soft moan escaped him as her tongue teased his lower lip, slipping past his teeth to brush his own. He wanted her close, impossibly close, as if his whole life had been leading up to this one precise moment-

Rose pulled back, resting her forehead against his, their breaths mingling. "Something's coming, Doctor. A storm is on its way."

Glancing up, he could see the auric haze that had overcome her eyes once more. "A storm?"

The Bad Wolf had been staring at something behind him, almost in a trance-like state, palms resting against his hearts. Her eyes flickered down to his, her expression guarded. "I think that you've dreamed enough, my Doctor."

Gripping her wrists, he kept her close. "You've come to warn me. Is this about Rose? Tell me!"

The Bad Wolf smiled weakly before taking advantage of him being distracted, wrenching them both to the side, throwing them both to the TARDIS grating.

"Doctor, are you alright?"

He groaned, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes. "Why did you do that?" he asked, keeping his eyes shut.

There was a pause before she spoke. "Do what? The power went out and by the time I finally got in here, the TARDIS' lights came back on and you're lying on the floor."

Rose, not the Bad Wolf. The Doctor sat up slowly, catching sight of a pair of pink flannel pyjama covered legs. He snapped his gaze up to her face, brown eyes confused, her hair disheveled and sleep mussed. "It was just a dream," he muttered, pushing himself up to lean against the console.

"Bad dream, then?" she asked, leaning down to retrieve his text before settling it on the jump seat.

Turning, he leaned back against the console, sighing heavily as he did. "Yeah, bit of a bad dream."

Watching her as she peered at him out of concern, she sidled up next to him, playfully bumping his arm with her shoulder. "Want to talk about it?"

She wore a soft but sincere smile, one he couldn't help but return. "Nah. Probably nothing anyway."

Smiling, she shook her head. "Well, you _are_ a Time Lord. Superior Gallifreyan genetics and all that."

"Quite right, Rose Tyler. Brilliant, you are." He grinned back at her. "So brilliant, I think that we should go see the something just as brilliant. How about we jump to 2012 for the Olympics?"

She beamed. "Sounds perfect! Well, if you're safe and sound," his smile wavered a bit at that, but went unnoticed by his companion, "then I'll just be back off to bed. Big day tomorrow! Night, Doctor!"

He watched her walk out of the control room, the Bad Wolf's words whispering in his mind. _"She loves you, would do anything to keep you safe."_

"_Something's coming, Doctor. A storm is on its way."_


End file.
